-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona , once dubbed `` America 's Sheriff , '' turned himself in Tuesday to a Colorado federal prison to begin serving his 5 1/2 - year sentence for a witness tampering conviction .

Carona , 55 , will serve 66 months in a minimum-security facility called `` The Camp '' at the Englewood federal prison in Littleton , Colorado , said John Sell , a corrections spokesman . The prison is 15 miles southwest of Denver .

Carona will have to serve at least 85 % of his sentence , spokesman Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney 's Office of the Central District of California told CNN .

Carona was sentenced in April 2009 in federal court in Santa Ana , California . He was convicted of trying to persuade a former assistant to lie to and withhold testimony from a federal grand jury investigating claims of corruption in Carona 's campaign and his administration , according to a statement by Mrozek .

Carona was also ordered to pay a fine of $ 125,000 , according to Mrozek .

During the trial , prosecutors presented evidence of a wide-ranging corruption scheme in which Carona used illegal campaign contributions and personally accepted cash bribes , Mrozek 's statement said .

According to the U.S. attorney 's office 's press release , U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford sentenced Carona and called witness tampering `` a very serious offense . '' The judge added that `` lying will not be tolerated in this courtroom , especially by law enforcement , especially by the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the county , '' according to the prosecutors ' statement .

During the trial , prosecutors said they presented evidence of a secretly recorded meeting in August 2007 in which Carona tried to persuade former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl to lie to a grand jury that Carona thought had subpoenaed Haidl , according to Mrozek .

In papers filed with the court before the 2009 sentencing , prosecutors charged that Carona received or solicited cash and other items of value worth at least $ 432,144 , according to Mrozek 's statement . The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into Carona .

California news outlets have referred to Carona as `` America 's Sheriff '' and have credited former CNN host Larry King with the nickname . In 2002 , then-Sheriff Carona appeared on `` Larry King Live '' because he caught the kidnapper and killer of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion , whom Carona dubbed `` America 's Little Girl . '' King called Carona and the girl 's mother , both guests , `` genuine American heroes and heroines , '' according to a CNN transcript .

@highlight

Former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona reports to a minimum-security prison

@highlight

He will serve a 5 1/2 - year sentence for his conviction on witness tampering

@highlight

CNN 's Larry King is credited with dubbing him `` America 's Sheriff ''